Into the Shaows
by The Lilacgirl
Summary: It's been a year since his family fled their of Lothering, and as Bethany slips out in the night to mourn their losses. Jason Hawke follows her but finds out there was more in the shadows then just him.


Jason Hawke always felt at home in the shadows, able to move swift and deadly without being detected by sight or sound. That was his advantage over most, and it was how he protected the ones he loved, even if they didn't know it. Bethany was one that knew better than this; he knew she just wanted to be normal, to be able to go out and not fear the Templars but it could never be, for she was _not_ normal, she was a mage. Jason had sworn to the Maker to protect his sister and he intended to do just that.

She would be very upset with him had she known he was following her; this thought made him smile. It reminded him of when they were children, and she would try to sneak out of the house to go to the village first thing in the morning. He followed her then too, always from afar and always carefully, so she did not see. Above all else, the most important thing to him was to keep those he loved safe.

When Bethany first snuck out, his initial intent was to stop her, to scold her for being so reckless. He knew why she did it though, so he pretended to be asleep as she slipped out of uncle Gamlen's decrepit house in the middle of the night. They both hated it there but there was no other choice, they had no where else to go. It had been a year now, a year to the day, and that was why he couldn't stop her. So he followed.

The entire day had been a mixture of emotional turmoil, tears of sorrow shed by each of them as they listened to their mother recall that horrible day one year before. He remembered the fear they all felt as they ran from their home forever, it always broke his heart to hear his mother's sobs. If he had only been faster then Carver might still have been here, but then it may have been himself that their mother mourned for on this day.

Bethany missed Carver more then she would admit, they had been twins after all. So different, yet so alike. They were always together when they were little, Carver always trying to play the protector over her when she had first showed signs of magic. He even went as far as trying to hide her blooming talent from their Father, trying to take the blame for the fire in the fields when Bethany tried to show him what she could do.

Father knew, you could never fool him, and yet he let Carver play the guardian to their sister while he began teaching Bethany. Jason wished that Carver hadn't been so bullheaded, that they could have gotten along better. He loved and missed his little brother dearly, but nothing could change the past. He may not have been fast enough to protect Carver but he would do whatever it took to protect Bethany, even if she wasn't aware of it.

The dim flicker of lamps lit the way, as she moved slowly down the darkened streets, heading towards the docks. Bethany paused, causing him to have to slip deeper into the shadows. She was not defenceless but it would not help if she decided to start lighting the street with fireballs if she thought she was being followed.

The closer they got to the docks the more the Rogue noticed how her body language changed. She normally stood tall and proud, but now her shoulders slumped, her head down as the stress of the day took its toll on her and thinking she was alone had allowed herself to show it.

They weren't alone, the sound was subtle but he heard it. He was not the only one following his beloved sister and the thought sent a surge of rage through him. The very notion that someone would take advantage of her, harm her... Well there was no way he would let that happen. Jason's body became rigid and he listened to the soft sound of his sister's feet and the chirp of crickets echoing through the alleys. Distant murmurs of drunks, and guards on patrol were too far away to be of concern, there was nothing close, and yet he knew someone was there. Who ever it was, they were good but he was better and he knew it.

Swiftly he moved along the far wall, he wanted to get ahead of her, needed to check all possible avenues. The rogue's eyes darted from one blackened corner to the next, then up to the roof tops. His mind was a whirlwind, assessing every vantage point. Would they attack now or wait? Bethany was distracted so if they were going to do anything, it would be now. He wondered if he should call out to her, leave the shadows and walk with her. That in itself could be a danger, so no, it was safer this way and if he could find them, she'd never need to know.

It was quite rare that anyone got the drop on Hawke, and this was one of those moments. With his focus on trying to find those who stalked his sister in the night, he never thought that they would be doing the same. One second, that's all it took and he heard it; the sound behind him. A small stone being crunched under a boot, cursing himself silently, he dropped to his knees as the sound of a blade swooshed past the top of his head. He may have been distracted at first, but not now. Twisting his body around, he clenched his hands into tight fists and used the momentum to drive them into the assassin's stomach with a dull sick thud. The man groaned and gasped in pain.

Hawke slid his daggers free from their sheath and realized there had been more than one. He felt the movement of air behind him and with his weapons at the ready, Jason jumped to his feet. He moved with lithe steps so his back wasn't to the first assassin, even though the man was holding his gut and writhing in pain. Metal met metal, singing into the darkness, their faces mere inches from each other. This one was smaller, slender. Piercing black eyes bore into his own through a black mask; these were not ordinary thugs attempting to rob or steal, these were sent to kill. A shiver ran through Hawke, they weren't after Bethany, no, these two were sent for him.

His heart hammered in his chest, blood racing. He lived for this; it was the thrill that made him feel alive. Jason could hear laboured breaths from the first man. He kicked his foot out forward, knocking the smaller assassin off balance; Jason staggered back but quickly regained his footing. There was little time for this, who ever or whatever they wanted, he would have to find out later. Bethany was no longer in sight and he needed to find her, and make sure she was safe. Before the larger of the two assassins could regain his composure, Jason shifted and brought his daggers down on the back of the assassin's neck.

The impact made a gruesome sound and thick, warm blood began to pour from the wounds and covered his gloves. The assassin made a wet gurgling sound as blood dribbled from his mouth as he slumped forward. There was little time to react as the smaller assassin lunged for him, and he turned to meet his blades. The sound of daggers clashing sang songs of death into the night. It became a dance, each movement mirroring the other. Each strike grazing its mark by only a few inches. Hawke knew he should keep this one alive, find out who sent them but he could not risk it, not now. Only a few minutes had passed but it felt like hours, Jason started to feel light headed and his body began to betray him. As much as the rogue loved to fight his body could only go for so long at full speed. He could hear his heart hammering in his ears; the world spinning wildly around him. He needed to end this and quickly, there was no time and he couldn't afford to keep up this pace.

Landing a lucky hit, Hawke brought up a dagger, smashing the assassin between the eyes with the pommel. With a sickening crack, the assassin fell to the ground, landing hard on his back. Jason rushed at him, to take advantage of the opening and brought his dagger down, aiming for the throat. His first mistake. The small figure brought his feet up and landed a kick squarely into the rogues chest, pushing him back. Pain shot through Jason's chest and he staggered back gasping, all the air knocked out of him.

The assassin flipped to his feet, blood pouring from the wound on his head. He yanked his mask off, using it to wipe the blood from his eyes. Hawke felt his heart stop as the assassin revealed his face. No.. he was just a boy, not much younger then Carver had been. Short black floppy hair hung around his ears, his dark eyes filled with hatred far beyond his young years. He stared in disbelief at this boy, he looked like him. Smaller of course but the same face, the same eyes... all he could do was stare, frozen. The boy lunged at Jason, daggers slashing through the air as they bit into Jason's upper arm, and he cried out as pain radiated through him.

Hawke shook himself out of his shock and reacted by bringing his own blades up, slashing the boy's chest, digging into his light armor. The wound wasn't deep but Jason could see blood slowly oozing from the wound. No, he did not want this, he did not want to kill the boy. He couldn't. Swiftly, Jason slid into the darkened shadows, racing around behind the boy and slipping his arm around his throat. Holding him firmly, he squeezed, just enough pressure in the right area so he could feel the boy gasping as he struggled for breath. Jason could feel the smaller body weakening and the daggers clattered loudly to the ground. Hawke kicked them away from reach, then eased off the pressure; the boy gasped sucking in deep gulping breaths.

"If I let you go, will you try to kill me again?" His voice boomed. He was angry, frustrated and he just wanted to go check on Bethany.

"I ha... have to, they will kill me if I don't," the boy wheezed, grabbing weakly at Hawke's arm.

"Who sent you?"

"I don't know, the boss just told us who to go after, so we did."

Hawke let go of the boy, letting him fall into a heap on the ground. The boy was still trying to catch his breath, his body shaking. He didn't know if it was from lack of air or fear of death. "Whats your name?"

"Dylann..."

"Well Dylann, it's your lucky day. I want you to get out of here but do not go back to your boss. I want you to leave Kirkwall, get out and don't look back. I never want to see your face again. Next time I wont let you live." Jason knew this was a bad idea, the chances the boy would listen and do just that were slim at best. If it had been any other day he wouldn't have risked it but the boy just reminded him too much of Carver.

"I c-can't, I have no money, I need the work to feed my family. There's just no way."

Hawke raised his hand, stopping the boy. He pulled at his pack and dug through it for a small satchel of coins. He tossed it to the boy's feet. It was everything he'd saved for the Deep roads expedition but he could make more. It may take longer but he wanted to help this boy.

The boys eyes widened in shock, staring down at the pouch then back up at Jason. "I-I can't... I don't..."

"Just take it Dylann, go home to your family. Take care of them and get them out of this city alright?"

The boy nodded, grabbing the pouch from the ground and holding it tightly to his chest. He stared into Jason's eyes. "Thank you, Serah... I don't know what else to say."

"It's alright, just don't get into anymore trouble. Your family needs you alive not dead."

Nodding, Dylann turned and ran off into the darkness. Hawke sighed heavily as he took off in search of Bethany. He ran towards the docks at full tilt, his mind reeling. What if there had been more assassins? What if they were after her as well? There was a twinge of pain that shot through his arm from the wound and he could feel the blood trickle down his arm. His breathing was laboured, his heart felt like it would explode from his chest at any moment, but he needed to get to her, make sure she was alright. Hawke skidded to a stop forcing away the worry, he needed to listen. The sound of water crashed against the docks, he was close now. He forced himself to walk slowly in the darkness, he had an idea where she might be and he hoped that he was right.

She was there, and the relief was momentous as he stopped to watch her. The moon was huge overhead, lighting up everything in a grey blue hue. As the light hit the water, it sparkled and danced. The sight warmed him, all the fear and sadness washing away at the vision before him. The rogue walked slowly up behind Bethany and he saw her tense slightly but not turn.

"I knew you would follow me here." Her voice was just above a whisper and the sadness in her voice made him want to grab her and hug her. Instead he stepped gracefully up beside his beloved sister.

"I was worried, it's not safe to be out here even in the daytime. At night you're just asking for trouble Beth, what were you thinking?"

She shrugged, giving her brother a sidelong glance before looking back out to the sea. "I miss it... I miss him, I... wish I could go back sometimes, then other times... this is home now and I love it here, but sometimes..."

"I know... I'm sorry Bethany, I'm truly sorry. If I had been faster, maybe if I hadn't hesitated..."

"What... what do you mean?" She asked, this time she turned to face him. Her eyes sad and pleading.

"Carver, I just wish..."

"Jason, no, please don't tell me you still blame yourself for that? There was nothing you or any of us could do."

"But Mother..."

"Mother was upset, I know she tried to blame you but it's not your fault, brother. Please don't blame yourself for something Carver chose to do."

"I will... try, I miss him too."

"I know, no matter how hot headed he could be, Carver was always a good brother." A small smile played on her lips as she went to turn back to the face the water, her eyes widened in shock as her attention was pulled to the blood now dripping from his fingers. "JASON, you're hurt! What happened?" she gasped reaching out to touch the open wound on his arm.

Grabbing her hand he pulled it away, "It's nothing sister, just a flesh wound, nothing to worry yourself about right now."

"But you're bleeding, it could get infected, let me heal it."

"Bethany, I'm alright... I promise when we get back I will let you heal it, okay?"

She scowled at him, "You're not going to tell me are you?"

"Bethany..."

She growled and quickly ripped a long strip from her robe hem. Hawke sighed but let her wrap it round the wound, trying not to wince as she bound it tightly enough to stop the bleeding for now.

"Alright, that will have to do until we get home then, and I will hold you to that, brother dear."

"I wouldn't have it any other way my dear sister," he chuckled, putting his good arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him.

They stayed like that for the next few hours, watching the moon slowly make its way across the sky, the water lapping peacefully below. So much had changed in a year and no matter how many regrets Jason Hawke had, he had his family and friends and that was all that mattered to him, and he would do whatever it took to protect them.

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><p>AN: A short one-shot a wrote for a dear friend of mine on Deviant Art Ren h t t p : / / dowmodder . deviantart . com / Jason is his Hawke, he has many stories of his Hawke, they are very good you should check them out.

And BIG HUGE Smooches and Hugs and thanks too RandomWittering for her Beta goodness, thank you so much my dear. ^.^

AND To Jinxy causer she's Jinx and I Luf her so. ;)


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